Luka at the real Modric - Spurs star buzzing after Chelsea strike

23 March 2009 03:56

Luka Modric believes he has finally proved his critics wrong and is ready to become one of the best midfielders in the Barclays Premier League.

Smiles better: Modric has improved for Spurs

Modric has been outstanding for Tottenham

in recent months and stole the headlines once again as his winning strike put a huge dent in Chelsea

's title hopes last Saturday.

The Croatia midfielder was described as too lightweight to handle the physical pressures of English football when he made a £15.8million move from Dinamo Zagreb last summer.

But Modric has shown his fighting qualities as he looks to help Tottenham push for a place in Europe.

Modric said: 'It was a great performance and a great goal. It meant a lot to me. I think I've now proved to people who doubted me that I can play in England.

'It was a brilliant moment and the best feeling, scoring the winning goal against Chelsea in front of your own supporters. I was so happy after the goal - I didn't know what to do!'

Modric has forged a superb relationship with Aaron Lennon ,who has also rediscovered his best form and won his place back in the England squad for the first time in two years.

On target: Modric scores against Chelsea

Lennon helped set up the winning goal for Modric on Saturday and the Croat says they are starting to understand how to get the best out of each other in the Tottenham midfield.

Modric added: 'I knew he was going to cut the ball back like that and I just hit it. He did that in training and we know each other's games now.'

Modric also had praise for Heurelho Gomes who has recovered from a nightmare start to turn in a string of excellent performances.

'Gomes made a great save right at the end and maybe we had a bit of luck when Alex hit the bar,' Modric said. 'It was tough in the last 10 minutes but we defended well, every player. We fought for everything and thankfully we held on to win.'

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